


Phoenix

by onionstories



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill Cipher Redemption, Gen, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9849767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onionstories/pseuds/onionstories
Summary: A lying little triangle realizes his true motives are more transparent than he led himself to believe.Eons later, Bill Cipher is reborn.





	

_ “Who are YOU?” He’d asked, upon being bestowed the great honor of being face-to-face with the great Axolotl. “Some sorta cosmic salamander?” _

_ “Bill Cipher,” The Axolotl had spoken, “What you wish to obtain does not lie at the end of the path you’ve chosen.” _

_ The being in question- a little triangle, forced to endure eons of loneliness in a prison bubble, in a punishment that the Axolotl felt would have never served its intended purpose of punishing the being for his crime. Millennia of complete isolation- the only contact to the outside world being through the mind, where nobody he communed with would ever have real proof of his existence, Cipher himself condemned to feel no touch, interact with no beings in the same plane as he, forced to create constructs in his wish-granting but finite bubble. _

_ Despite the isolation, he never expressed gratitude to be speaking to another being. The Axolotl preferred it this way- the less damage done to Cipher, the easier his job would be. His sharp tongue, with him since childhood, never seemed to leave. _

_ “Oh yeah?” He’d challenged, glaring at the almighty Axolotl. “I can SEE the FUTURE, y’know! INFINITE sight- INFINITE POSSIBILITIES!" _

_ “And?” _

_ “And I saw that I DO get what I want! Weirdmageddon will commence! I’ll have ULTIMATE power! How’s THAT for the end of my path, FRILLY?” _

_ The Axolotl did not waver. “You can see the end of timelines, yes?” _

_ “ALL of them.” _

_ “You can see which ones are most likely to occur, yes?” _

_ “Of COURSE, Frilly! That’s how I KNOW Weirdmageddon will be a reality!” _

_ “Then you shall know what you truly wish to obtain does not lie at the end of the path you’ve chosen. Have you not forgotten the Rule of One?” _

* * *

The mind of the being formerly known as Bill Cipher had not been in this bad of a frenzy since eons ago- since his home was burnt up by his own hand.  _ Danger,  _ he’d thought.  _ No way out. NO WAY OUT- Help me- STANLEY- _

He could’ve gotten out. A master of the mind should have known that- and Bill Cipher was the greatest mind master there ever was. Many skills on his metaphorical resume were put there falsely, however, this was not one of them. Seeing the blue flames consume the world around him awakened a fear of Bill’s long suppressed- he’d broken down, his mind had went blank, and the Axolotl was surprised to find that he had not thought he was in two places at once.

He’d arrived in the time and space between time and space with his hand outstretched- a desperate plea for compassion. Gently, as to not startle him, the Axolotl reached out a hand, laying it so that Bill had something to grab onto. He immediately latched, his small nails digging into the Axolotl’s flesh, but the Axolotl did not mind. He let Bill hold his finger, this was progress. Bill had shown vulnerability- he’d come to him for comfort. 

 “Now do you understand what I meant, eons ago?” The Axolotl asked once Bill had calmed down from the initial shock, addressing him like a stern but loving parent would a child. Bill nodded his head- or rather, his entire frame. More progress- the Axolotl smiled a bit wider- he admitted it. His dedication to what he had promised was astounding. 

“Mm. I do, Frilly. Y’know, you could’a been a little less CRYPTIC!”

He smiled at the little triangle. “Rich, coming from one with the surname Cipher. Besides, answers should not be handed out on a silver platter. Then, you were not the one to have come to those conclusions- and that was essential.”

* * *

 

_ The Rule of One is a rule that the select few creatures blessed with infinite sight follow. Infinite possibilities are all-encompassing- everything happens at least once. Rule of One indicates that if an outcome occurs in a single-digit number of timelines, it should be treated as impossible- nine or fewer timelines in a sea of infinitum has no chance of happening. _

_ Cipher paled at the mention- and turned away from the cosmic being. “What ABOUT it, you FRILLY KNOW IT ALL? There’s TONS of timelines where I start Weirdmageddon- and HALF of those have ME WINNING.” _

_ “Do not play dumb with me, Cipher. I am talking about your true hope.” _

_ “This IS my true hope, Fril, I want COSMIC POWER! A universe to rule over, subjects to WORSHIP me and BOW AT MY FEET-” _

_ “That will not make you happy, Cipher.” _

_ He’d paled- it was truly a sight to see, his bright yellow seeming to drain away. “WHAT did you just say?” He was trembling with anger- and something else: Fear. How had the Axolotl known? _

_ “I said,” The Axolotl repeated, never losing his composure, “that will not make you happy. Rule of One- you only achieve happiness in three timelines.” _

_ Cipher’s fists balled- he was turning red from anger, and glaring directly at the Axolotl. “And what makes YOU so SURE that THAT’S what I WANT?” His fists went ablaze- such was the routine when he got angered. “I don’t want HAPPINESS- I don’t NEED to WANT happiness! I’m PERFECTLY happy doing EXACTLY what I’ve been doing for THOUSANDS OF YEARS- hurting people is WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY, FRILLY!” _

_ The Axolotl waited for Cipher’s petulant tirade to be over. Then, he started to recite. _

* * *

“I want to try again, Fril.”

Bill’s voice was unwavering, looking at the cosmic creature, although the hidden desperation shone through in his one large, unblinking eye. “You were RIGHT,  _ Frilly,  _ lemme do it again.”

* * *

_ “Sixty degrees that come in threes.” _

_ “Oh, well, NO SHIT, Frilly, anyone can tell THAT by looking at me!” _

  _“Watches from within birch trees.”_

_ “They’ve got the little eyes on them- how could I NOT?” _

* * *

“Of course,” The Axolotl said, placing a comforting hand on Bill’s back. “That is why I gave you this second chance. It’s why you are here in the first place.”

* * *

_ “Saw his own dimension burn.” _

_ “I was THERE, Fril, it’s not like I was BLIND!” Cipher remembered, though- the visions he’d had of the burning, of the destruction. He’d been careful to prevent it- too careful, than when it came, he could not control it. _

* * *

“Bill,” The Axolotl had to ask. “Why, despite my warnings, did you continue down your path? Why spend eons of your life doing something that made you miserable? Why hurt so many people so severely- and pretend it was something you enjoyed?”

* * *

_ “Says he’s happy.” _

_ “Why wouldn’t I? I’m the happiest guy I know!” _

_ “He’s a liar.” _

_ Cipher stopped, staring at the Axolotl.  _ **_“What did you just say.”_ ** _ He glared the creature a million times his size down, demanding answers. The Axolotl smiled and gave him a look that said, ‘you’re not as good at faking as you think you are,’ and continued. _

* * *

 

“What ELSE was I supposed to do, Frilly?” Bill looked ashamed of what he’d said as he was saying it, but despite that, he stuck with his statement.

“I can think of many alternate paths. You were frightened, weren’t you?" 

* * *

_ “Blame the arson for the fire.” _

_ “Of course I’m gonna blame myself,” Cipher muttered to himself, remembering how he’d wanted to take care of those who surrounded him- those who made life miserable for them all- and how it spiraled out of control, and before Cipher knew it, everything he’d ever known was gone, leaving himself and his thoughts to live out a life filled with loneliness. “I mean, it’s not like anyone ELSE did it.” _

* * *

“It’s not like that CHANGES anything, Fril-”

“I know, I know. But were you?”

“I-  _ Fril-” _

_ “Were you?” _

Bill crossed his arms. “A little.”

“You felt as if you needed control to be happy, am I correct?”

“...” 

“You needed to be on top, where nothing could ever hurt you again.”

“Fril-”

“Lack of control cost you your home- you needed it back”

“Frilly, I’m WARNING you-”

“You told yourself a means to an end were fine. And, when that failed to make you feel alright with what you were doing, you told yourself that you liked it. Correct?”

“...”

_ “Am I correct, Cipher?” _

* * *

_ "If he wants to shirk the blame, he’ll have to invoke my name.” _

_ Cipher scoffed at the idea- but he remembered it, he seared it into his mind, and repeated the verse whenever he felt like it was all fruitless. A way out, if he so desired. He told himself he DIDN’T desire it- it was just as a precaution. A failsafe. _

_ Bill Cipher could lie to a lot of beings. But he could never believe the lies he tried to tell himself. _

* * *

“Fine, FINE, you’re  _ RIGHT,  _ is  _ THAT  _ what you wanted to  _ HEAR ABOUT ME?” _

“No,” The Axolotl admitted. “I wish it wasn’t so. But, this is what Fate had in store for you. And I do not like to meddle with fate.” 

“You saved my life when I was a kid, mister  _ I-don’t-like-to-meddle-with-Fate!” _

“Correct. I did not like that I had to do that.” 

Bill shot him a glare. “Well,  _ I  _ didn’t like it  _ EITHER.”  _

* * *

_ “One way to absolve his crime.” _

_ Cipher had turned around at this point, trying to block the Axolotl’s words out. Had he really been so transparent? So bad at faking HAPPINESS, the emotion that came so naturally to every creature imaginable, that his least favorite being had written a poem about how depressed and regretful he was? _

_ “A different form, a different time.” _

* * *

“Never mind that,” The Axolotl dismissed interventions long past. “How would you like your second chance-”

“I wanna be  _ myself!”  _ Bill said rapidly. “I wanna remember! It won’t be the SAME if I didn’t!”

* * *

  _“Are you DONE?” Cipher snapped, all anger sapped away and replaced with numb realization. It wasn’t every day that a cosmic being of unfathomable power told him his innermost feelings to his face, and it was a feeling he’d rather forget as soon as possible._

_ “That is the end of the poem, yes,” The Axolotl confirmed. Cipher sighed, rubbing the middle of his eyelid. _

_ “I’d rather be BACK IN PRISON than be HERE, Frilly! He said, at his wit’s end with the cosmic creature.  _

_ “That can be arranged, in fact, I was about to send you back. But remember this, Cipher:”  _

* * *

“Yourself,” The Axolotl repeated. “You want to remember. How bold of you, Bill. You’ve grown since I last saw you.”

Bill smirked. “You mean a second ago?”

The Axolotl let himself chuckle at Bill’s remark. “I meant eons ago, when I told you your poem.”

“Right, right, THAT thing- do ALL triangles get poems calling them depressed, or was it just me?” 

“Just you,” The Axolotl clarified. “Although, I saw less depression and more regret- and misguidance.”

“I can be BOTH, Frilly, I’m GREAT at multitasking!” 

The Axolotl’s interest was piqued. “You consider yourself depressed?”

“No-! Shut UP,  _ FRILLY!” _

* * *

_ “WHAT  _ **_IS_ ** _ IT?” _

_ “Remember,” The Axolotl said, “If you ever feel like atoning- feel like chasing true happiness, all you must do is recite this phrase:” _

_ “A-X-O-L-O-T-L _

_ MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN _

_ I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER _

_ THAT I MAY RETURN” _

_ Cipher rolled his eye. “Why BURN? Is it some kind of ironic tie-in to the time I MURDERED EVERYONE?” _

  _“All in due time, Cipher,” The Axolotl reassured. “Not all the answers are present at the start. Farewell.”_

_ With that, Cipher fell unconscious, his form dissipating and returning to his prison- the Nightmare Realm. _

_ And the Axolotl waited. _

* * *

_ How subtle,  _ the Axolotl thought, although he held off on confronting Bill on it. All in due time.

“Very well, you would like to regain your memories. Would you like to reconcile with those you have hurt?” 

“Yeah, I GUESS.”

“You guess? It seems very clear what action you would like to take.”

“...yeah. I’d like to  _ reconcile with those I have hurt.”  _ Bill mimicked the Axolotl’s voice.

“That can be arranged. But first, you rest. You’ve had a long lifetime, and I do not think you are quite ready to be sent back out in your current condition.” 

Bill huffed.  _ “FINE.”  _ He lowered himself in a large beanbag chair the Axolotl had just prepared for him, with a blanket and pillow for him, as a bed for the tired creature. He felt his eye droop the second he let himself relax into the warmth.

“I’ve spent TOO LONG in PRISON to settle for anything else, Fril, so it BETTER be comfortable here!” He had to get the last word as he drifted off. Before he slipped under in what would be the last sleep he had as Bill Cipher, Feared Ruler of the Nightmare Realm, Monster of Minds, Demon of Dreams, the Axolotl smiled at him.

“Infinitely.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment if you liked it, they make me want to write more.
> 
> EDIT: _[Do Not Stand At My Grave And Cry](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11056911)_ is a followup.


End file.
